Act 29: Tumen's Legacy

Romane and Freya extinguished the campfire and ran out after Brando. They both guessed that Brando's change might be related to the blinding black light from before, but they didn't even know how that black light was produced. Only the future merchant lady had seen the Soul Crystal in Brando's hand, and she also knew he had a very magical ring that could summon wind to kill enemies for him.

Oh, and he had also given her a ring. Romane particularly liked the distinct black and white spider silk pattern on it. The style of using spider silk as decoration was not common in Bucci, or rather, in the entire world of light, but the less common it was, the more she cherished it.

She just wondered if that ring also possessed the same magic.

These were all aspects of Brando that she didn't know. The future merchant lady looked at the young man's back as he stood in the morning valley, filled with curiosity, feeling that everything with Brando was filled with magic and mystery.

"Brando, what happened?" Compared to Romane's carefree attitude of just following Brando, Freya was more serious. This girl with the long ponytail believed her responsibility was to share some of Brando's worries.

"It's nothing major, but we should leave this place quickly." Brando said, suppressing the unease in his heart. He coughed and drew his Elf Sword, which reflected a faint glow on the barren rocks. To be honest, he really didn't know how to explain the magic absorption reaction to Freya and Romane—

In general, it was a spontaneous plundering behavior of high-level magic items towards low-level free energy. However, magic items below the 40 Oz power level rarely reacted with each other in this way, but no matter what, he couldn't explain these professional terms to Freya and Romane in a short time.

Freya looked at him worriedly but didn't ask further.

Brando looked down at the valley. There was no movement below, but he still lacked a sense of security. He could only have Freya put on her armor while having Romane prepare the grappling hook. Freya was already wearing combat attire, so she could directly put on the pieces of the Empress of Wind Half-Plate. However, she was alone and untrained, so speed was not to be expected.

Romane was both nervous and a little excited. She wanted to help but was afraid Freya would scold her. Although she and Freya were best friends, the ponytail girl didn't hold back when she got angry. Moreover, she knew that if she went up, she would only make things worse.

Brando wasn't in a hurry for this moment, but he was more worried that the strong magic ripples would cause the monsters in the valley to riot, which would be a real problem.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but lift the card in his hand, secretly startled. He didn't expect that Girende's most important collection was not the Gleaming Thorn, but this card. Magic items at or above the 40 Oz power level, what kind of concept was that? He remembered that he only saw it for the first time in his fifth year of the game.

It was known that during the long Chaos Era, humans and elven wizards had long been unable to solve the problem of how to infuse magic items with a second-tier power. This problem was only perfectly solved by a genius in the Year of the Moon's Dusk (Chaos 471).

This genius was Tumen, the Emperor of Elements.

Tumen's invented Saint Rune Engraving Technique completely solved the problem of infusing items with second-tier power, and only after that did it become possible to manufacture magic items at or above the 40 Oz power level.

Brando did not doubt that the mysterious pattern on the back of the card in his hand was indeed a sealed Saint Rune. However, he had never seen such a complex Saint Rune. This was neither the Saint Rune of the Wind Empress of the elves, nor the Fire God Saint Rune of the Cruz people. As for the Sea King Saint Rune of the Elantar, although he was not familiar with it, it definitely wouldn't look like this.

He stared at the intricate pattern, feeling a headache coming on. Tumen's transmitted techniques had undergone several revolutionary advancements in the past thousand years. Logically, modern Saint Runes should not have such complex configurations—unless this was an ancient artifact?

But as he was wondering, the card in his hand suddenly floated up without warning and shot a beam of black light towards the hazy sky. In a short while, another towering beam of light responded from the southeastern mountains.

Resonance!

Brando had no time to react and could only watch this scene unfold blankly. He was about to go crazy because this magic reaction was even more significant. It was estimated that the Madara army, more than ten miles away, should have been alerted. The resonance reaction could only be from parts of a set. Brando never expected that a card in his hand would be part of a set, and that there would be a corresponding part in the Xavier Mountain Pass.

And, as fate would have it, they were precisely within the range of resonance.

"Brando?"

"Brando, what's wrong?" Romane and Freya spoke at the same time. This time, even if they were fools, they knew that the card in Brando's hand must be problematic.

"I'll explain later. Are the armor pieces ready?" Brando glanced at the valley below one last time and asked with a tone of urgency.

Freya nodded.

The strong magical reaction had already caused the shadows of demon servants to appear in the valley. Brando saw a few young Withered Beasts passing below the dry ravine. He dared not delay and immediately ordered Romane and Freya to drop as much weight as possible and proceed lightly along the cliff towards the east.

Dry rations and water should have been important reserves, but at this moment, they couldn't afford to keep them. Brando only carried basic equipment and a few ropes. Each person kept a torch, and all other necessary burdens were discarded. They had to race against time. As they walked, more and more Withered Beasts gathered in the valley below, as if the entire Xavier Mountain Pass had erupted.

Brando's heart pounded as he saw the situation below. This was truly a monster riot. However, he was on the cliff. The first batch of monsters would take at least 10 minutes to reach their previous encampment. Even if a few Withered Beasts saw them below, their numbers would not be a concern.

What Brando truly worried about was that the patrol routes of the Treants on the eastern cliff would change due to this sudden change, so he had to get there before the first wave of Golden Demon Tree offspring reached the middle of the canyon.

Only there could he find a way to kill the first patrol.

He knew that this patrol should have just passed the riverbank at this moment. Even if they turned back immediately, it would take two hours to reach the middle of the canyon. He had entered this dungeon countless times to farm the Golden Tree Heart, and every disturbance was etched in his memory. His only concern was that reality might differ from the game.

Fortunately, they arrived just a step ahead of time. The three saw a group of monsters interwoven with vines coming from the east on the ridge, and both sides discovered each other at approximately the same time. The Treants were about one and a half times the height of a person, covered in aerial roots like vines, and had no eyes. However, the membranous organs at their joints allowed them to capture every detail of sound.

They were also divided into adult and juvenile forms. Adult forms were agile and could move through the valley as if on flat ground, and they were also good at climbing, posing the greatest threat in Brando's mind. However, among the ten Treants in this group, there was only one adult form, which matched his memory.

"Get to the summit, ahead of them." Brando's hand was sweating as he saw the Treants getting closer. There was a giant rock on the summit. In the game, explosives could be used to loosen it, causing it to roll down and kill the patrolling Treants while also blocking the valley. Of course, Brando didn't have explosives now and couldn't find any on short notice, but he had the Wind Queen Ring, which was much more powerful than explosives.

He looked at the small platform on the summit and couldn't help but sigh. In the past, he could easily reach there alone ahead of the adult Treant, but now, due to the paralyzing poison, his agility had dropped by 0.3 energy levels, so he had to rely on Freya and Romane.

Although the two girls didn't understand what Brando was thinking, they nodded their heads diligently. It was a critical moment. Although Brando hadn't said anything, seeing how nervous he was, they knew the monsters ahead were not to be trifled with.

Both sides were in a hurry. Freya and Brando were doing slightly better, while Romane, who was physically weaker, had a pale little face and was almost out of breath. Fortunately, due to the time advantage, they still reached the summit first.

But it was only by a hair's breadth.

As soon as Brando and Freya climbed up, the adult Treant appeared. Brando knew with his toes that the chance of winning against a level 22 monster was zero, but even if the odds were negative, he had to try. He couldn't just sit there and wait to die, right?

Brando immediately threw the Wind Queen Ring to Freya and shouted, "Attack the connection point of the rock and knock it down. The password is Oz, understand?"

Freya subconsciously caught the ring and was stunned: "Brando?"

"Put it on your index finger, I'll hold off this monster, hurry." Brando originally wanted Romane to do it, which would have saved one person to cover him, but when he looked back, the merchant lady was still far behind.

This was the consequence of slacking off, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Turning back, Brando took a deep breath, his whole body stiffening with nervousness. Although he appeared calm in front of Freya, it didn't mean he wasn't afraid at all. Treants were not Withered Beasts; they had stable first-tier power. After losing the Wind Queen Ring, he found it hard to believe he could contend with them.

Power level 4.5, physique level 6, agility level 2. Extremely high defense and toughness, corrosive poison on the outer skin, skilled in long-range attacks, possesses binding abilities, weak to fire, weak to slashing. Brando calmed himself and recalled the opponent's attributes. Judging solely by these stats, this adult Treant seemed not much different from an elite Withered Beast, but he knew that the battle between the two was worlds apart.

As soon as Brando thought of this, the vines on the Treant seemed to come alive, and countless vines stabbed at him together. He was so scared that he quickly rolled to the side to dodge—the seemingly soft vines were now like steel cables, piercing straight into the rock with a "zi" sound. The rock surface immediately emitted a sizzling sound and began to emit white smoke.

Corrosive, this was the most terrifying aspect of the Treant. Ordinary swords not only couldn't harm them but would also be damaged by their corrosive outer skin.

The Treant knew it had missed by the sound. It immediately swung its vines to the side, and the vine whip swept towards Brando again. The latter cursed inwardly but could only continue to dodge like a lazy donkey. The "steel cable" swept across the ground, sending rocks flying everywhere.

The flying stone fragments hit Brando's eyebrow, causing his forehead to bleed profusely. But he couldn't make a sound of pain at this moment. Grabbing the Gleaming Thorn, he lunged forward during a gap in the opponent's attack.

But at this very moment, he froze.

He saw a line of dark green text appear on his retina—

"Do you wish to summon, Sacred Sword."